The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for controlling the acoustic environment of a space and more particularly to a system and methods for controlling acoustic environments within venues used for hospitality purposes, such as restaurants.
The escalating noise levels in restaurants have become an acute problem for restaurant owners, whose patrons increasingly complain of excessive noise levels. Owners who attempt to solve the problem typically resort to one-size-fits-all solutions, which rarely produce acceptable results. The problem is the number of variables that contribute to the acoustic environment, all of which are not easily controlled. Complicating matters are conflicting goals of restaurant owners: they may want to have a buzzing restaurant—but not too loud, and they may not want it buzzing all of the time, and/or not everywhere in the establishment.
These varied demands present daunting challenges for audio and acoustical professionals called upon to provide solutions to the problem of excessive noise or the perception of excessive noise in restaurants. In most cases, no single contributing factor is fully responsible for this problem. Rather, the culprit is a fluid mix of changing architectural and cultural trends along with the way humans tend to vocalize in acoustically stressful environments. With respect to architecture, most fine dining used to take place in a lush environment of velour drapes, thick carpets, and plush padded seating. The kitchen was far off in an unknown and unheard location. Today, patrons of trendy top flight restaurants are more likely surrounded by exposed concrete, brick, tile, hardwood, and mirrors. Often kitchen noise comes clattering through an open serving window. The combination of hard materials in a relatively small space means that there is little sound dissipation, resulting in longer reverberation times and louder rooms.
Further, in many restaurants up-tempo foreground music is piped into the environment, often at fairly high sound levels. This factor is, at least theoretically, under control of restaurant management. However, often management's choice is to maintain a music level well above the general noise level, and in a lively acoustical environment that can be very loud.
The final contributing factor is the patrons themselves. When more patrons are talking in a restaurant, the ambient noise level rises. And the higher the ambient noise level, the louder the patrons talk. When music levels and ambient noise creep past some critical level (which can vary with the demographics, primarily age, of the people occupying the restaurant space), the restaurant approaches a threshold where higher sound levels can cause extreme patron dissatisfaction and the loss of business.
Excessive restaurant noise also affects employees. It has been reported that waiters and waitresses have suffered recurring headaches and temporary hearing loss.
Traditional acoustical treatments, judiciously used, can ameliorate some of the above-mentioned excessive noise problems. But balanced and effective acoustical treatments require careful on-site testing, diligent planning, and close coordination with architects or interior designers who can be more concerned about appearances than noise. In most cases, such acoustical treatment will aim for a best compromise: not so dry that it sucks life out of the room when occupancy is low, but still damping it enough to quell the din when the room is packed with a lively crowd. Such compromises cannot account for changing conditions and changing objectives for the acoustic environment. For example, often with an ownership or management change, the restaurant will target a different demographic, which may mean the desire for a livelier room for a young crowd or something quieter for older clientele. Such a change is likely to require an acoustical makeover of the premises.
The present invention is a dynamic acoustic control system that provides a dynamic approach to controlling the acoustics within a space, such as in restaurants, and that allows a number of variables influencing the acoustics within the space to be addressed and controlled on the fly. The invention also provides a solution to the existing problem in the restaurant industry allowing trendy eateries to maintain a “lively buzz” without subjecting customers and employees to annoying and even potentially harmful noise levels.